Carotid artery stenoses typically manifest in the common carotid artery, internal carotid artery or external carotid artery as a pathologic narrowing of the vascular wall, for example, caused by the deposition of plaque, that inhibits normal blood flow. Endarterectomy, an open surgical procedure, traditionally has been used to treat such stenosis of the carotid artery.
An important problem encountered in carotid artery surgery is that emboli may be formed during the course of the procedure, and these emboli can rapidly pass into the cerebral vasculature and cause ischemic stroke.
Several previously known apparatus and methods attempt to remove emboli formed during interventional procedures by trapping or suctioning the emboli out of the vessel of interest. These previously known systems, however, provide less than optimal solutions to the problems of effectively removing emboli.
It therefore would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for removing emboli during surgical procedures, such as endarterectomy, that reduce the risk that emboli are carried into the cerebral vasculature.
It also would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for removing emboli during surgical procedures that utilize natural aspiration techniques to minimize trauma imposed upon the treatment vessel.
It also would be desirable to provide methods and apparatus for removing emboli during a surgical procedure that enable filtering of emboli and reduced blood loss.